On April 1, the U.S. Supreme Court heard
oral arguments in a case that could redefine how affirmative action
racial preference policies determine school admissions. A decision
is expected by the end of June.

As a public service intended to provide
educational information about the debate over racial set-aside
programs to those interested in learning more, the African-American
leadership network Project 21 maintains the "Affirmative
Action Information Center" (http://www.nationalcenter.org/AA.html)
as an online resource.

Project 21's "Affirmative Action
Information Center" contains commentary from a variety of
perspectives. It also features articles, legislation and legal
information related to affirmative action policy as well as links
to other groups involved in the debate regarding the policy's
constitutionality. Project 21 members hope the online information
center will help those interested individuals learn more about
the intellectual underpinnings of affirmative action policy and
the criticism of it rather than just relying on the heated and
emotional statements that usually dominate media reports.

In the case currently before the Supreme
Court, the University of Michigan is seeking to uphold a preference
policy giving certain minority students an edge in the admissions
process due to their racial heritage. While supporters of this
policy claim that diversity is a legitimate and legal goal for
the school to promote, plaintiffs and their allies say that affirmative
action policies like the one at the University of Michigan discriminate
against students who meet the academic requirements over those
who are not as qualified.